Parents of stabbed teenager condemn murder sentence

The parents of a 17-year-old who was stabbed by another teenager because he
was "in the wrong place at the wrong time" have condemned the
13-year sentence handed out to the killer.

By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent

5:39PM BST 30 Jul 2008

Andrew and Marilyn Mitchell said justice had failed them after Alan Dewar, 18, was jailed for the murder of their son Joshua.

Dewar had taken a cocktail of drugs and alcohol when he attacked the teenager close to his home in Inverness this year. He told police he stabbed him because he was "the closest boy" to him.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow after previously admitting murder and was told by the judge Lord Hodge that alcohol abuse lay behind "another pointless tragedy".

Dewar was ordered to serve 13 years before he can apply for parole. He had previously been jailed for carrying a knife, and was convicted of assault late last year. He had been out of custody for one week before the fatal stabbing.

The victim's family and friends, who were in court to hear the sentence, said the outcome was "a shambles".

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Mr Mitchell, 40, added: "That's not justice. It should be a lifetime spent in jail for a life. What he did was so barbaric."

Mrs Mitchell, 53, said Dewar had taken away her "little angel", adding: "The 13 years to me is nothing. My son being killed has ripped the heart out of me. I feel totally lost without him."

The court heard that Dewar lived in the same street as the Mitchells and on the day of the murder on March 22 this year he had taken Buckfast and valium at a friend's house.

He was later involved in a fight with a male friend who had escaped by fleeing to his house. Dewar left the scene "annoyed" and attacked Joshua, who had learning disabilites, as he was walking home listening to his iPod.

John Scullion, prosecuting, told the court: "Without provocation, the accused approached him from behind and placed his left arm at shoulder level.

"An onlooker then saw the accused swing his right arm around to the front of the deceased and stab him once in the chest with the knife blade.

"The deceased immediately staggered backwards and fell to the ground with blood pumping from his chest."

Dewar initially stood nearby smoking a cigarette as onlookers tried to help Joshua, before fleeing to a friend's house and burying the murder weapon.

When he was detained by police, he said: "I know I'm going to get life for this. I don't know why I done it. I don't know why that boy. It was the closest boy to me."

He agreed with detectives that Joshua had been in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Dewar's lawyer said he had a "hellish upbringing and background" and had shown profound regret.

Lord Hodge told him: "You consumed a significant quantity of Buckfast and valium and you took out your frustration in a chilling way at the wholly innocent Mr Mitchell.

"Alcohol abuse lies behind another pointless tragedy. You appear to be at ease with the use of violence."